Dallas Digital Summit 2013

“Technology always helps you if you don’t have to think.” – Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder of Apple

Dallas Digital Summit 2013 is one of the largest tech conferences in the region! This year the conference was held at the Irving Convention Center on December 10th and 11th. The Digital Summit allows people in the industry to learn more about the following fields:

Digital Media & Marketing

Web Strategies

Design

Startups

Innovation

Emerging Tech

Along with informational booths, there were a variety of speakers, networking events, and opportunities for personal and professional growth. “With over 75 speakers from leading brands, there was an abundance of knowledge shared on how to improve digital marketing and business strategies. People were able to dive into topics such as “Content Strategy, Usability/Design, Mobile Marketing, Customer Engagement, Social Media, Ecommerce, Email, Search, Marketing Automation, Analytics & Data, Video & Multi-Screen Experience and much, much more!”

Between the people I met and presentations that I saw, I was definitely able to learn a lot and I would recommend the Dallas Digital Summit to anyone interested in the aforementioned fields or topics.

Learn more about my experience at the conference! To start with, watch as Susan Bennett, the emcee of the conference and the voice of Apple’s Siri, demonstrates some of the other voice-over acts that she’s done.

Fun Facts

Having the chance to listen to some of the most successful industry leaders is beyond amazing! In my opinion, some of the best speakers that I had the chance to see, were:

David Shing (Digital Prophet, AOL) – According to Shingy (as many people call him), we see over 19000 media messages a day, which can be overwhelming. To overcome this, the obvious thing to do is “Put your content in smart places.”

Brent Herd (Director of Southeast, Twitter) – Everything that Brent Herd had to say about Twitter, pointed to one piece of advice, which is to listen! Some of his talking points were that almost all of the public conversation around TV happens on Twitter, Japan now uses Twitter as its official emergency response system because of how locals reacted after the 2011 tsunami, and brands are able to use the platform to define their voice, personality, and relevance.

Randi Zuckerberg (Founder & CEO, Zuckerberg Media) – Randi Zuckerberg discussed 10 online trends that a lot of people participate in. Randi’s presentation brought to light that we are all too “plugged in” at times. She is a believer that “just because you can document your every waking moment, doesn’t mean you should.” While she does agree that sharing authentic details about our lives online is okay, she recommends taking the time to engage with friends and family face to face. You can find out more about her thoughts on this subject by reading her book, “Dot Complicated, Untangling Our Wired Lives.”

Steve Wozniak (Co-Founder, Apple) – The “Woz,” as he is often referred, was a great person to listen to! The closing keynote of the conference was actually a chat between Brent Herd and Steve Wozniak, which was very entertaining! Seems like the advice that Steve said he got from his dad, was very helpful for his career! Take note: “Dad always told me, ‘Try to be well-liked and nice; that’s how you’ll get along in life.”

If you get a chance to attend this conference next year, make sure you don’t skip out on the networking events! I was able to meet both Randi Zuckerberg and Steve Wozniak, which was amazing!

Finally, along with learning a bunch of new information, the speakers often show very moving and inspiring content. Both Brent Herd and David Shing brought this video to our attention in regards to advertising. Shingy was comparing subtle vs. blatant advertising and noted that “content is 7% more likely to be shared with a celebrity in it.” Take a look at this Adidas ad:

The fact is, good content will often be passed around, so keep that in mind!

Also, don’t forget that attending a conference like this is very fun and educational, so make sure to find a similar one in your area or head to Dallas next year to participate! You can always use Hertz NeverLost to guide you 🙂

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The Navigation Solutions Team

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Navigation Solutions, LLC provides turnkey engineering, installation and logistics services for Hertz NeverLost®, the rental car industry's leading in-car navigation system. We are partnered with Hertz, the world's largest general use rental brand and the #1 airport car rental brand in the United States.